Occasional letters I write to US Presidents, mostly for my own wellbeing and somewhat in the hope of making a small difference. All my letters are submitted on WhiteHouse.gov and then posted here.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

President Trump - Week 2

February 5, 2017

Donald Trump

President, United States of America

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Greetings. This is the second week and second letter in my
attempt to write to you every week of your Presidency. It’s a discipline I
followed during part of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It’s partly to share
my perspectives with you—which in his case and yours come from a place of respectful
dissent—and partly for my own spiritual good.

The second week of your Presidency has been defined by your
executive order to ban Muslims from seven nations from entering the United
States. I say it is a “ban” because you have repeatedly referred to it as a
ban, though your surrogates insist it is, actually, a “pause.” Which it is, in
reality, time will tell. Given what is relatively easy to surmise from your
campaign statements and the published interviews with your advisors, especially
Steve Bannon, I’ll go ahead an anticipate it will be more in the range of a
“ban.”

I’ve been trying to follow the logic of your Muslim ban, to
see if it is rooted in truth and reality. So far, I can see there is logic to it, but not logic that
reflects reality as most people understand and accept it.

It is logical for people to be afraid of mass violence fomented by
extremist ideologies. It is true that extremist ideologies are at work among
people who call themselves Muslims. But the same is true of Christians: we know
that extremist ideologies, like neo-Nazism and white supremacy groups in the
United States, have fomented gross atrocities in our homeland. It is not
logical, therefore, to presume that people of Muslim faith from the Middle East
are more likely to terrorize our citizens. In fact, crime and terrorism statistics
do not support your logic.

As I
see it, the tragic flaw in your Muslim ban is the false assumption, fomented by
people you have uncritically listened to for years, that Islam is evil. Beyond
being deceived into thinking Islam
is evil, it appears you have been led to believe that Islam is not a valid
religion. It seems you see it, rather, as an ideology that threatens the West.
In presuming and demonizing Islam
as an evil ideology, you and your advisors are both misled and misleading.A change of mind and heart is desperately needed.

I grew
up conservative Evangelical
and heard, repeatedly, in church and Sunday School that Islam was violent,
evil, and not real religion. Ever since, I have progressively learned through
university and seminary studies and extended conversations that this is not
true. My earliest teachers were wrong and they misled. Islam is a peace-loving,
peace-promoting faith--no less than Christianity.Could it be that the same wrong/false
teachings/assumptions about Islam in Evangelical church circles
has directly or indirectly misinformed you and your advisors?

You call
for “extreme vetting” for Muslim refugees, apparently without knowing the
extent to which these refugees are currently being vetted in an 18-month to
two-year process by the capacities of the United States. As part of your “pause,”
please learn firsthand of the extent to which our public servants have been and
are making America safe. Applaud their efforts; do not disparage them.

To
reduce fear and violence, responsible leadership that people at home and abroad
will come to respect will carefully discern between faith and violent
extremism, between valid religion and radical ideologies—both at home and
abroad.

Along
with millions of fellow Americans, I am very concerned that your Muslim ban is
having many unintended consequences that far outstrip your original intentions.
Unless you intended to say to all Muslims, “we do not want you, we suspect you,
we will oppose you,” your policy is badly missing the mark. But, if alienating
the Muslim world from America is your intent, you certainly have hit that mark.

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About Me

I live in and love Indianapolis, guide community-based nonprofits, serve as pastor to a small urban church, occasionally teach courses in the School for Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University (IUPUI), and ride a bicycle as often as possible.